Crystalline silicon solar cells have been widely known as a device for directly converting light energy into electric energy. The crystalline silicon solar cells are used as an independent power source, and as a power source for use in a vehicle. The crystalline silicon solar cells are made usually of silicon single crystals or amorphous silicon. However, enormous amounts of energy is required to produce silicon single crystals or amorphous silicon, and in order to recover energy consumed for fabricating the solar cells, the solar cells needs to generate electric power continuously for nearly a ten-year long period.
On the contrary, dye-sensitized solar cells have been proposed as an inexpensive solar cell. The dye-sensitized solar cells have been expected to serve as the next-generation solar cell due to a simple fabrication method and a reduction in material costs. As illustrated in the following FIG. 16, for example, a dye-sensitized solar cell in the related art comprises a transparent conductive electrode 503, a porous semiconductor layer 102 comprising a dye sensitizer 102a supported therein, a counter electrode 505, and an electrolyte material 107 provided between the transparent conductive electrode 503 and the counter electrode 505.